Since moving and can finally put plants in the ground, I have been trying to decide what to do about my banana trees. I've been researching different methods and wasn't really happy about any of them .. the other night I thought 'bubble wrap"! I went to Youtube and did a search for banana and bubble wrap and was delighted to find a number of video's about how to do this .. after watching a few I decided I'd try the method Jay's Hedge Trimming uses. Even though they are in British Columbia they are in the same zone as I am. With a hard freeze forecast for Friday night I did it today. Keeping my fingers crossed this works .. if it doesn't I have 'heirs and spares'.

The method is pretty simple. Just cut the top off the tree, wrap the stalk in bubble wrap, put a 'cap' on it, cut the bottom off of a leaf bag, put it over the wrapped stalk and fill it with leaves. It was quick and fairly easy to do.

Here is a link to the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

That looks great, Anne! Let us know how it works.

Thanks Karen .. I'll certainly let you know how it works .. my only worry is that we usually have a warm up in mid January with temps usually in the upper 70's and think it might 'cook' the stalk ... I suppose I could put a box over the stalks in the day time to keep them out of direct sun.

That would be my worry, too. In AZ my mom grew bananas in 9a. They would do fine for 5 or 6 years and then freeze to the ground and not return. I might try it and wrap them up like you did. Bet it might work during the hard freezing spells.

I'll be curious how it works for your Banana trees too. We had a neighbor once who used plastic wrap of some sort to cover some shrubs in her yard during a hard freeze. I don't remember what type of shrubs they were but the plastic froze to the plants and they didn't survive.

Maybe it would be better to not let plastic touch the leaves. Put some type of frost cloth on first, and then bubblewrap it up.

If there are any appliance stores nearby, you could inquire if they have any empty boxes ... maybe they'd save a few for you. Large appliance boxes are great for covering tender plants during the winter and they are easy to lift off when there's a warm day and re-cover again at night.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't get too hot .. I'm trying to think of a way I can make a bubble wrap sleeve that I can put on and take off when necessary.

The reason given for not using plastic tarps on cold nights is, as Lin mentioned, the moisture that builds up under the plastic freezes to the plastic and causes tissue damage. Banana stalks are mostly water so there will be plenty of moisture under there. A layer of something, even just newspapers, between the trunk and the plastic should help. Good luck.

Thanks for the heads up Alice .. I may just redo it a bit and wrap some old towels around the stalks and then do the bubble wrap.

Old towels or sheets would work well.

I cut my Musa basjoo to 12 inches or so. Build a structure ~ 3 feet tall around it and fill with 1 foot of leaves and straw. The 4 mil plastic over the entire area and then 2 more feet of straw and leaves. Worked great last Winter here in Z 5b. Did the same with my Windmill palm.

Hmmm .. I just might end up doing something like that as well! Going down to 26° tonight then warming up.

Anne did I miss out on what kind of banana it is?

The one in the front is a mystery but I got it at a local plant swap so I'm thinking it's probably hardy to a degree .. the two in the back are the Blood Banana M. acuminata.

I couldn't remember when we traded if I sent you an ice cream banana or not. It's the only banana I have ever grown that reliably came back for me each year without protection.

The banana you sent me is potted up and in the garage. The canna are in the ground along with the ginger and did awesome this summer though got knocked down for the winter by a hard freeze this past weekend.

You guys make me go ....
There is only so much I can Zone push here.

Xeramtheum said:I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't get too hot .. I'm trying to think of a way I can make a bubble wrap sleeve that I can put on and take off when necessary.

Build a circular structure with chicken wire or similar and wooden stakes that can be driven in the ground?

Lol .. you kind of read my mind David! I was considering hula hoops and some stakes.